Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña is calling on candidates running in the 2025 elections to stop using women and LGBTQI+ individuals as punchlines in campaign events, warning that outdated and offensive humor has no place in modern politics.
“The time for obscenity to be a path towards election has finished. That one most obscene person is currently at the Hague,” Cendaña said in Filipino, referencing former President Rodrigo Duterte, now in the custody of the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands.
Cendaña stressed that sexist and homophobic jokes reflect more than just poor taste—they’re an early sign of bad governance. “Leadership begins on the campaign trail. If you resort to demeaning jokes now, it’s a sign of how you will govern later. If you are making obscene and uncourteous statements during a campaign, you will also govern the people in a rude manner,” he said.
He emphasized that candidates can still connect with voters without resorting to harmful language. “Let us leave misogynistic and homophobic remarks as a thing of the past. We understand that candidates want to make their speeches lively and memorable, but crude, sexist humor has no place in our politics,” Cendaña added.
His remarks come as several candidates were recently flagged for offensive remarks on the campaign trail, prompting the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to issue show-cause orders. Among those called out was Pasig City congressional hopeful Ian Sia, who drew flak for lewd comments about single mothers during a recent sortie.
Cendaña concluded with a call for respect and inclusivity: “Let us start our sorties by being gender-sensitive so that when we are elected to the Senate, the Congress, or the local government, we will be gender-sensitive too and our policies will be empowering.”
